Larry Cunningham says "Hug a telephone pole"

It took place outside of Delta, Colorado. I was walking along at a good clip, trying to stay ahead of a pretty vicious thunderstorm which had been following me for hours. It was dark, windy and the terrain was flat and endless, yet another in the series of flat open areas that I have been stuck in as lighting and hail and rain have knocked me around for a dozen loops.
From seemingly out of nowhere a man appeared beside me. I had not seen his truck, a utility vehicle, as it has stopped behind me and had not heard him calling out to me, since my mp3 player was blasting away. I quickly shut it off and listened to the man, whose name was, I soon found out, Larry Cunningham. He asked me if I minded if he walked with me while he asked me some questions. He seemed harmless enough so I said it was okay. He had seen me walking for several days in a row and wondered what I was doing it for. I happily told him about WhyHunger and their mission. I gave him a card and he was thrilled to have it. He said he was going to go home and make a donation pronto.
I asked him if he thought I was going to avoid the storm. He looked at the clouds behind us and said, “No. Its going to get you pretty soon.” I laughed and told him that I was a sitting duck for the lightning, to which he replied, “Hug a telephone pole. It’s the safest place for you if you’re out in the open. The lightning won’t hit you full blast, but it’s the safest place you ll be. So if it starts to lighting, hug a telephone pole.”
The utility truck told me that he probably knew what he was talking about. So, next time it starts to lightning, remember those words: Hug a telephone pole.